A Romantic Date (Sonadow)
by LyraintheSky
Summary: Amy realizes that a certain hedgehog couple never goes on any real dates and takes it upon herself to plan one. The date... happens. (Now with several other short Sonadow interactions, with varying levels of romance)
1. Normal

**And thus we have a prime example of why I don't write distinct romance. -u- Ah well. Feedback is appreciated!**

* * *

"You know," Amy said thoughtfully, "I don't think I've ever seen you two go on an actual date."

Sonic and Shadow paused their conversation to stare blankly at her, then at each other.

The pair had been walking around the mall on a hunt for some unknown object when Amy had popped up and insisted on joining them. She'd followed them, listening to their typical banter, until that bit of wisdom popped out. Really, it was no wonder Sonic and Shadow were confused.

Amy huffed at their expressions. "It's not that hard to understand me, is it?"

"Uh, no," Sonic said slowly. "But that didn't make any sense. We go on dates all the time."

She gave him an unimpressed look. "Name one that doesn't involve racing, or fighting, or some other non-romantic activity."

Shadow blinked. "Those don't count as romantic activities?"

Sonic choked, and Amy gaped. She closed her mouth after a moment and her eyes took on a determined gleam. "Alright, that's it. I'm setting up a proper date for you two. No, don't argue, I'm doing this no matter what. I'll call you tomorrow with details." And she dashed off without giving them a chance to offer input.

Sonic sighed and turned to his partner. "How bad can it be?" He grimaced at Shadow's expression. "Yeah, don't answer that. But it might be nice to have a little variety in our romantic life. 'Sides, if it turns out too bad, we can end things our way."

Shadow frowned for another moment, then nodded. "Alright. We'll allow it this once."

Sonic grinned. "Great! Now what was it we were supposed to be looking for?"

"Explain to me again why I'm helping you spy on them."

Amy looked up from the screen she'd been studying to see Tails looking as annoyed as he had since she'd first come in. She smiled brightly, just like the last time he'd asked. "Because I want to see how well their date goes, and you know you do too."

Tails sighed and turned back to the console. "If they find out, you're responsible."

Amy refrained from pointing out that he'd said that several times, instead closely studying the scene before her. Sonic and Shadow were sitting in a nice restaurant, chatting while they waited for their food.

Well, okay, it wasn't a super nice restaurant, but it was nicer than the fast food places they'd been known to frequent. And Sonic was talking, mostly, while Shadow sat, cheek resting on his palm, and allowed his eyes to glaze over. Amy pouted a little; she couldn't hear what was said, since the drone couldn't get closer without being spotted, but her mission to make the couple do more couple-y things didn't seem very successful so far.

Tails noticed her expression and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He offered a commiserating pat on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, they don't exactly follow most norms of dating. You told me about Shadow's comment, remember? All that stuff they usually do _is_ dating to them." He nodded sideways at the console. "This probably just isn't their sort of thing."

Amy bit her lip, debating whether it was too early to admit defeat. Her eyes flashed as she made her decision. "No, I'm _not_ giving up this early! They still have a movie and a romantic walk in the forest!"

Tails suppressed a sigh and returned to his other project. She'd get it eventually. Really, though, it was a relief that she'd accepted Sonic's relationship with Shadow at all. He'd concluded that he could manage whatever fallout came with, and he'd stick with that conclusion.

Even if it meant watching cheesy romcoms while spying on the happy couple.

Tails looked up as the lights went on in the theatre. "Any luck?"

Amy let out a long, disappointed sigh. "No. They fell asleep."

He nodded, trying to look sympathetic. Really, he was amused that their plan had gone sideways with such an obvious mistake. They couldn't see much in the darkened theatre; the drone was built for a daylight excursion, after all. But he wasn't going to point this out to Amy. Instead, he said, "There's still the walk."

She perked up immediately. "That's right! And that's the best part of a date: holding hands as you walk through the quiet forest, just the two of you…" Suddenly she was brimming with enthusiasm again. "It can't go wrong!"

Tails began brainstorming potential ways it could go wrong, challenging himself to guess what would happen.

He guessed meteor shower, not rain, but decided that was close enough.

Amy was distraught when the pair began to comment on the darkening sky. She'd picked that date especially for the clear weather. (And the clear schedules, but Shadow was the only real problem there.) For the one good thing she'd been sure she could count on to go bad-!

Tails found himself in the uncomfortable position of having to console the distraught girl without saying 'I told you so' (mostly because he hadn't. He should've, though).

"I've got it!"

The spies whipped around to face the console at the chipper announcement. Sonic was bouncing a little, wearing his trademark grin. Shadow gave him a puzzled look. "If you mean the fact that it's about to rain, well done. It certainly took long enough."

Sonic waved him aside. "No, not that. I meant I know what we can do now."

"Oh, really."

"Yup." His grin widened a bit. "We can race with a bet."

Something in Shadow's stance changed slightly, though neither spy could say exactly what. His expression reflected a hint of curiosity. "Go on."

Sonic nodded sideways to indicate the park as a whole. "Amy wanted us to hang around here, right? So we can race through the park and back here. We'll have done something here, it'll be fun, and we can make it home before it starts to rain. It's a win for everyone."

"Except the loser."

"Not if we're doing the usual bet."

Shadow considered, then offered a slight smirk. "You're on, faker."

Sonic returned the smirk. "Ready when you are."

At some unseen signal, both hedgehogs took off in a colorful blur. Amy took the short pause to blink at Tails. "What's the usual bet?"

Tails shrugged. "No idea. They've used it before, but never actually said – look, they're back."

Sonic skidded to a stop just before Shadow, looking over his shoulder with a slight frown. It changed to a sly smirk as he looked the other over. The speedster stalked slowly over to him, still smirking. "That was a really easy win."

Shadow shrugged, meeting his look with a neutral expression. "Perhaps I didn't stretch enough this morning."

Sonic shook his head and tut-tutted, now circling his partner. "You and I both know that's not it. So how about you just admit," he paused in front of Shadow, "that you let me win." He leaned in so close their noses were almost touching.

Shadow took an automatic half-step back, but was stopped by Sonic's hand cupped behind his neck. Upon closer inspection, his cheeks were starting to darken, though his expression remained steadfastly neutral. "I admit nothing of the kind."

Sonic pouted, then released him and spun away. "Fiiiiiine, you're no fun," he whined.

Shadow snorted, then stepped forward and caught his hand. "Come on. Unless you want to get wet, we should return home." Without waiting for Sonic's response, he turned and began walking toward the park entrance.

Sonic snickered and began to follow, but paused and turned to face the camera. He gave it a peace sign and a grin, then mouthed, "Hope you enjoyed the show!"

"Faker, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, Shads, let's go!"

There was a whoosh, and they were gone.

Amy unglued her eyes from the screen and turned to Tails. "That was- huh?" She blinked at the formerly occupied space beside her. "Tails?"

"Over here." She looked to see him in a far corner of the lab, working on his project. At her confused look, he shrugged and said, "They seemed like they might be needing privacy soon. Did Sonic notice the camera?"

She blinked, then nodded. "It sounded like he did."

"Right. I'm directing him to you if he comes asking, just so you know."

Amy thought about that, then shrugged. "I'm okay with that. I just wish I knew what their bet was."

Tails shrugged. "We're probably better off not knowing."

She resisted the urge to pout. "If you say so." A quick glance at the clock revealed disappointing news. "I should get going now."

"Alright, see you." Tails waited until she'd left, then sighed and frowned at the console. He grumbled something about brain bleach and went back to work.


	2. Running

**So I realized I marked this as In Progress. This wasn't intentional (it was meant as a one-shot), but I got some new inspiration, so I'll be adding a few more chapters based around the pair's normal dates. Feel free to offer suggestions if you have them - I'll try to include anything I get.**

 **Shorter than last chapter by a lot, but here's the chapter.**

* * *

Air whistled by, drowning out all other sound. The scenery stretched and smeared into an indistinct blur. All that existed was the wind in his ears, the road ahead, and the hedgehog beside him. And it was wonderful.

Of course, as fast as they were going, it had to end sooner than later. Sonic passed the tree line and skidded to a halt, turning to Shadow. "Looks like a tie."

Shadow hmphed. "You must be mistaken. I don't _tie._ "

"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that." Sonic grinned. The teasing was all in good fun, after all. Especially on these few times when they weren't really trying to win. Sure, competitive races were great, but these occasional casual runs were almost better.

Because this was Shadow he got to run with: Shadow, who gave as good as he got in fighting, in banter, in every aspect of their relationship; Shadow, who had offered his life on so many occasions to protect his home; Shadow, who knew Sonic as well as he knew himself and always made sure to show it.

A flick on his forehead brought Sonic back to the present. He blinked when he saw Shadow's face close to his, concern narrowing his eyes the faintest bit.

He smiled reassuringly. "Just thinking."

Shadow studied his face for a moment, then nodded and began to draw away. He paused and leaned in to plant a short, chaste kiss on Sonic's lips before stepping back. "We should go."

Sonic blinked at the sudden gesture for a moment, then smiled again, brighter than before. "Then let's go."

Two whooshes, a split second apart, signaled the departure of the two fastest things alive.


	3. Tired

**(Quick (unrelated) note before the story: Fangirl Amy is my favorite Amy. Cause if she really loves Sonic, she'll be happy he's happy, and try to make sure he stays happy. Though I also like the idea of her saying 'well he's happy here now, but one day he'll be with me, cause we're still destined lovers.' Anyway, that's my tangent for the day. Carry on.)**

 **I need to think of better chapter titles. ...Maybe later.**

 **This wasn't what I'd been planning to write. But then an exhausting trip happened and I got different inspiration. Also, any bad jokes must be blamed on my sleep-deprived mind. Any bad grammar is still on me.**

* * *

"It doesn't matter how urgent the mission is, I can't go." Shadow sighed and adjusted his hold on the phone.

Rouge's voice crackled through the line. "Then what should I tell the commander? He won't let you off the hook without a good reason."

"Tell him I'm in no condition physically to fulfill the duties required of me."

Rouge was silent for a moment. "Alright, I'll tell him. But only if you tell _me_ what happened."

"I can barely walk. You need no more detail than that."

There was another moment of silence. Shadow had a sudden sinking feeling just before he heard muffled laughter, as though Rouge had covered the receiver. The effect ceased as she spoke, humor still clear in her voice. "So, did you and blue boy have fun?"

Shadow frowned. "What are you-" He froze, eyes going wide, then squeezing them shut and massaging his forehead with one hand. "Oh for- Rouge, get your mind out of the gutter. Faker dragged me to Disney for the past three days. It is nothing like… _that_."

"Awww." He could hear her pouting through the phone. "That's not nearly as fun." She paused, then chuckled a bit. "So how's he doing?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, glancing toward the kitchen where some unreasonably cheerful whistling could be heard. "He's perfectly fine."

"Well that's something. Tell him he'd better treat you well today or I'll come for him. Bye now."

"Goodbye, Rouge."

He hung up just in time for Sonic to appear carrying a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast, zipping back a few times to get a glass of hot chocolate, a few painkillers (which Shadow swallowed immediately), and his own breakfast. He settled on the couch beside Shadow and grinned at him. "Well?"

Shadow sighed and fixed him with an irritated glare. "You shouldn't eavesdrop."

"Small house. Did she actually think-?"

"Apparently yes. We will not discuss this further."

Sonic had the grace to restrain his laughter and instead turn on the TV, switching to one of their preferred channels.

"Also, you'd better treat me well today or she'll come for you." When Sonic blinked at him, he shrugged. "Her words."

Sonic laughed lightly and settled in to eat.

Shadow took a bite of his bacon and paused, turning to raise a brow at Sonic. When the blue hedgehog noticed, his cheeks flushed faintly and he turned to study his feet. "Microwave bacon. But the chocolate and eggs're homemade."

Shadow briefly debated giving him a hard time about the bacon, then decided not to. He tapped Sonic's shoulder to get his attention and offered a slight nod. "Thank you."

Sonic smiled, still a bit sheepish, and returned to his own meal. "You're welcome."

There was a brief silence as both enjoyed their breakfasts.

"So how's the little mermaid syndrome?"

"Faker, I will end you."

* * *

 **Heh. Heheh. Eh.**

 **In case you don't get it... original Little Mermaid story, the girl got legs, but it would always feel like she was walking on knives.**


	4. Question

**Been staying home sick these past days, and what better way to spend rest time than to write more? :D Also, if my writing style is a little off, it's probably from feeling off. Sorry bout that.  
**

 **This is a slightly different piece from the other chapters. It's less distinctly romantic, more an exploration of one direction these two's relationship could go. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, especially how it compares to other chapters.  
**

* * *

If you asked people what Sonic and Shadow's relationship was, you'd get all sorts of answers.

Ask some stranger, you might hear anything from best friends to occasional allies to worst enemies.

Ask one of their friends, you'd hear they were dating or they hated each other.

Ask one of them, they'd shrug and ask whether it mattered.

Neither of them really felt a need to formalize what they were. For Shadow, it was a matter of not bothering with the conformity he'd been forced to endure his whole life. For Sonic, it was a general dislike of fitting into society's boxes. And they both agreed that their relationship didn't really fit any traditional labels.

They'd fought and tried to kill each other, they'd fought for their world together, and they'd saved each other's lives, all more times than either could count. They spent time apart, and together, and on their com units nations apart. After so much history, it was hard to consider their relationship to be purely platonic.

But they weren't really dating, either. Sonic wasn't much for the 'ideal' relationship – settling down, having a family, and marital bliss in general were not for the adventurous hero. Shadow wasn't interested in the finer points of a romantic relationship, so he never pursued one. Neither of them were interested in things like going out for dinner, unless you counted a quick stop at a burger joint. So they weren't really a couple, either.

That left the question of what they were. And it wasn't an easy one. To Sonic and Shadow, it didn't much matter. They fought as allies, raced as rivals, and separated as friends – and that was enough for them.


	5. Mission

**Sorry for going a while between updates. I should probably say that a week or two is generally a safe estimate for how often I'll write, so sorry if my inspiration burst there gave anyone false hope. -u-**

 **I've been working with this one long enough, and I still don't like it much. I might rewrite it as its own longer piece someday. For now, enjoy a shorter, more platonic bit of interaction. That doesn't really belong here... but this'll do, I suppose.**

* * *

"Hey, Egghead!"

Eggman paused his maniacal laughter to blink at the blue speedster. "What- Sonic? I haven't even attacked yet, how did you know- I mean, why did you come here?" He frowned at the screens beside him. "For that matter, how did you get in without setting off my security?"

Sonic jerked a thumb at the open vent above him. "You might want to invest in some vent security. Or maybe a quick read of the Evil Overlord list."

Eggman quickly set aside his shock as the realization settled in that yes, Sonic was here in front of him, and required immediate action. He grabbed a remote and pressed the big red button, summoning forth a robot from a nearby hatch. Sonic grinned and hopped into battle.

The fight was rather routine, mainly because the author can't write fight scenes. Luckily, this allowed Sonic to sneak glances at the security camera feed. He had to suppress a grin whenever he saw what he was looking for. Couldn't give the game away too early.

At least it didn't matter for too long. Sonic allowed himself a wicked smirk as alarms finally began blaring.

Eggman scowled at the sound, not understanding the implications. "What? Honestly, if they're going to work why can't they work when- huh?"

Shadow chose that moment to chaos control in to Sonic's right. He held an emerald up. "Mission accomplished."

Sonic grinned at him. "Great! Now what you say we leave in style?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, but agreeably spindashed Eggman's robot with him. Both of them ignored the villain's spluttering in favor of dashing out through the hallways, smashing bots as they went.

They stopped in a forest a good distance from the base. Shadow regarded Sonic with a flat stare as the hero collapsed on the ground giggling. "Chaos, his _face!_ " he gasped.

Shadow attempted to keep his stony façade, but it slipped just enough for Sonic to notice. He shot him one of his more natural smiles. "That sure was fun, huh, Shads?"

Shadow rolled his eyes and pulled the emerald out of his quills. "'Fun' is not the word I would use," he said, without any real heat behind the words.

Sonic calmed himself enough to hop onto his feet and sling an arm around his rival's shoulders. "If you say so."

"I do." Shadow shifted, but made no real move to escape the confining hold.

"Same time next invasion?"

Shadow sighed. "If you insist. Now I have other tasks to attend, so if you'll excuse me…"

Sonic obligingly took a step back and waited for Shadow to chaos control away. He thought for a moment, then smiled again and sped on his own way.


	6. Music

**More platonic than usual, but still Sonic and Shadow interacting in their usual entertaining way. (Also, it appears I write better when I'm not sick. Shocker. -u-)**

* * *

Sonic leaned against the vent unit, eyes closed, humming along to the overly loud music playing below. He hadn't planned to 'attend' a random school dance, but he couldn't say he minded listening to some music until he could risk leaving the gym roof.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

Oops. Sonic's eyes snapped open as he tensed to run, but Shadow had clearly expected that, a hand on Sonic's neck holding him in place. "Oh no. You aren't getting away this time."

Sonic couldn't deny being a little worried, but he concealed it with a confident grin. "Oh come on, Shads, can't you take a joke? You don't even smell like fish anymore, so I don't see why you're complaining."

Shadow smirked at him. "Would you still say this if you thought you could escape?"

The answer to that was obvious enough to both of them, and Sonic struggled to think of a decent comeback. His thoughts were interrupted when the music changed. A blue ear twitched as Sonic listened, then grinned again. "Hey, I know this one!"

Shadow paused, grip loosening just a little. "What?" He listened, realizing that he knew it too.

The dark hedgehog noticed that Sonic had started singing along quietly. He rolled his eyes and released his hold. He could strangle the prankster after his song.

Sonic was absorbed in his thoughts and didn't notice at first when Shadow started humming along. When he did notice, he shot a pointed grin at the other, who pretended he hadn't noticed.

They both sang along for a while, Sonic watching Shadow carefully, Shadow gazing off into the distance. Both were absorbed in the song and rather startled when it ended.

Sonic recovered first. "Well, it's been fun, but gotta run." He zipped away in a blur of color.

Shadow blinked at the spot he'd previously occupied before remembering why he'd been here. "What- Sonic!" And he raced after the escapee hedgehog once more.


	7. Sleepy

**New record for shortest chapter! I'm just gonna claim short and sweet.**

 **I like to think Shadow is a cuddler, but only shows it when really tired because _that's not good for his image, damn it!_ and all that. **

* * *

Sonic bit his tongue to hold back the snickers that threatened to escape him. It wasn't every day that he came home to find Shadow asleep on the couch with his feet on the back and armrest and his head hanging toward the floor. He only slept rarely, but when he did, he fell asleep in some very strange positions.

Still, Sonic knew Shadow got better sleep if he was in his bed, strange position or not. So after he'd taken the necessary photos, he carefully gathered Shadow into his arms and carried him upstairs.

He always forgot just how heavy Shadow was. All that dense muscle really added up. Luckily, Shadow's room was right next to the stairs, so he didn't have to walk far. He pushed the door open and laid the slumbering hedgehog on the bed, gently pulling his shoes off and draping a sheet over him. All that done, he stood and turned to the door.

A hand caught his wrist, keeping him from leaving. When he looked back, Shadow's eyes were open a tiny bit, watching him drowsily. Shadow tugged ever so slightly at his arm.

Sonic hesitated only briefly before pulling off his own shoes and laying down beside him. "If you get mad at me tomorrow, just know it was your idea."

Shadow gave him a glare, rendered impotent by his heavy eyelids. He quickly gave up and squirmed closer to Sonic, burying his face in a blue and tan furred shoulder. Sonic smiled and wrapped both arms around his sleepy hedgehog, holding him close as they fell asleep.


	8. Contemplative

**Look, a chapter for this with actual romance in it! ...Yeah. If you folks have any ideas for new chapters, feel free to share. I'm running low on inspiration for this set. (And yes, in case you were wondering, Wake will be updated today, so don't worry about that.)  
**

* * *

The sound of rapid footsteps approached, fast enough to make it clear beyond a doubt who they belong to.

"Hey, Faker!"

Faker. Originally it had been an insult, hadn't it? But they'd come so far beyond that by now, and it had become more a friendly endearment than anything. At least to one of them.

"Uh… Shads?"

Though there were other nicknames as well. If he were asked, he would say he preferred Faker. He might be lying, but he'd say it.

"Are you sleeping?"

But certain other qualities were more noteworthy, both in terms of endearment and general annoyance.

"Nah, there's no way. It's not your time of the month. Wait, I didn't mean that how it sounded!"

Such as his ability to stick his foot in his mouth up to the hip.

"…Huh. Didn't even twitch. Maybe he is asleep."

But what he admired him for most was his determin-mmph?!

Shadow's eyes snapped open and his face flushed as he felt an unexpected pressure on his lips. Sonic pulled back after only a second, grinning wide as ever. "Thought that might get your attention. Don't think I've ever seen you so deep in thought."

Shadow's shocked expression was overtaken by a glare. "Faker…"

Sonic blinked, then smiled a touch nervously. "Would you look at the time! I've got somewhere to be about now, so I'll just be-"

Shadow caught him by the wrist, yanking him to the ground. "Oh no you don't," he growled, smirking at Sonic's nervous expression. He took him by the chin and forced their eyes to meet. "You wanted attention, right? Well now you'll get it."

While Sonic's determination might be his most admirable trait, his 'oh bleep' face right now was quite possibly the most entertaining.


End file.
